John Boehner Says He'll Back Obama on Syria Strikes

John Boehner Says He'll Back Obama on Syria Strikes

John Boehner Says He'll Back Obama on Syria Strikes

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) speaks with U.S. President Barack Obama as he meets with members of Congress in the cabinet room of the White House on September 3, 2013 in Washington, D.C.

Photo by Dennis Brack-Pool/Getty Images

President Obama and his team of national security advisers are frantically working to secure the votes they'll need to authorize military action in Syria. After a meeting at the White House this morning, Obama appears to have landed the support of one lawmaker that could make that happen: House Speaker John Boehner. NBC News:

The top elected Republican in Washington, Boehner said following a meeting at the White House that he intended to support Obama’s plan for limited strikes against the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. "I am going to support the president's call for action," he told reporters.

As some Republicans signal their reluctance to approve Obama’s request for authority to intervene in Syria, Boehner’s endorsement could be influential. The GOP speaker is often hesitant to get out in front of his unruly Republican conference on major issues, giving Boehner’s pronouncement on Tuesday all the more weight. "The use of these weapons has to be responded to," Boehner said.

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Lawmakers are expected to return to Washington next week following summer recess, at which point both chambers are expected to begin debating Obama's plan for "limited" military intervention to punish the Assad regime for what the U.S. says was the widespread use of chemical weapons.